Rivals Think Cowboys Planning To Tag WR George Pickens Again In 2027

Jason La Canfora says there’s a sense from his sources around the league that the Cowboys are not planning to do a long-term deal with WR George Pickens this offseason, but instead to tag him again in 2027. 

La Canfora explains that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t sound bullish about the chances for an extension when speaking with reporters at the recent NFL owners meetings, and his sources picked up on that. 

When combined with a multitude of other factors, including questions about Pickens’ makeup, Jones’ history with the tag and his history with Pickens’ agent (David Mulugheta, who also represented Micah Parsons), the tea leaves might be pointing toward Dallas going year by year with Pickens. 

“Pay-as-you guy is a smart strategy with Pickens,” one longtime NFL contract negotiator said to La Canfora. “And Jerry’s never shy about applying the tag. Even if Pickens keeps it together (in 2026), there would be some obvious concerns about how he would operate with the kind of guarantees that would come with a top-of-market deal… I don’t believe Jerry subscribes to the calculus of having two receivers on a mega deal and his quarterback at the top of the market.”

This source pointed out to La Canfora how Jones talked about the next couple of seasons with the tag, not just 2026. 

“I don’t and won’t get into our planning and structure of our team and our cap, but the franchise tag is an integral part of all teams, but certainly an integral part of our strategy over the next two or three years as we look at how to keep the best players we can have relative to the cap,” Jones said. 

Dallas franchised Pickens at a figure of $27.298 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season. Pickens hasn’t signed the tender yet and probably won’t for a while, as he can’t be fined for missing team activities if he’s not technically under contract. 

Mulugheta abhors the franchise tag so the expectation is that Pickens will hold out this offseason to try and exert leverage on Dallas for a long-term deal. 

Given the Cowboys’ history of protracted contract negotiations under Jones, it seems likely that Pickens’ holdout will extend into training camp as well. 

Pickens, 25, was a preseason All-American second-team selection in 2021 and a second-team preseason All-SEC at Georgia. The Steelers used the No. 52 overall pick on him in the 2022 NFL Draft.

He was in the final year of a four-year $6,752,177 rookie contract that included a $2,090,674 signing bonus when he was traded to the Cowboys after the draft for a future third-round pick. 

Dallas franchised Pickens at a sum of $27.298 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season.

In 2025, Pickens appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys and caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.

We’ll have more on Pickens and the Cowboys as the news is available.